Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pingzhou Du, Yu Liu, Lu Deng, Dong Qian, Xiuhua Xue, Ting Yang, Tonghui Li, Yun Xiang, Haiyun Ren
Summary: The newly discovered AtMAC protein is involved in the regulation of phragmoplast organization during centrifugal phragmoplast expansion, playing a crucial role in cytokinesis.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emmanuel Panteris, Anna Kouskouveli, Dimitris Pappas, Ioannis-Dimosthenis S. Adamakis
Summary: The malfunction of p60-katanin in cell plate/daughter wall formation in the fra2 Arabidopsis thaliana loss-of-function mutant was investigated. Deviations in the chemical composition of cell plate/new cell wall were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunolabeling, and confocal microscopy. Delayed cytokinesis in the mutant results in a loss of synchronization between cell plate growth and chemical maturation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jianyan Zeng, Jing Xi, Baoxia Li, Xingying Yan, Yonglu Dai, Yiping Wu, Yuehua Xiao, Yan Pei, Mi Zhang
Summary: This study elucidates the roles of actin and microtubule cytoskeletons in the initiation of cotton fiber growth. Both cytoskeletons align along the growth axis in initiating fibers. Dense and bundled actin filaments (AFs) are observed in fiber cells, while microtubules (MTs) are randomized. Pharmacological experiments demonstrate that depolymerization of both AFs and MTs assist fiber initiation, while AF stabilization and depolymerization inhibit elongation. Notably, the organization of AFs is correlated with MT dynamics.
PLANT CELL REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ondrej Kucera, Valerie Siahaan, Daniel Janda, Sietske H. Dijkstra, Eliska Pilatova, Eva Zatecka, Stefan Diez, Marcus Braun, Zdenek Lansky
Summary: Cytokinetic ring constriction during cell division requires actin but curiously is independent of myosin in many organisms. Here, the authors show that anillin, a protein enriched in the contractile ring, is a non-motor actin crosslinker that generates contractile force in lieu of a molecular motor. By maximizing the lengths of overlaps between bundled actin filaments, anillin autonomously propels the contractility of actin bundles.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Keisho Maeda, Takumi Higaki
Summary: Disruption of actin filaments may result in delayed cell plate formation by perturbing initial phragmoplast microtubules or cell plate assembly.
PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lindy A. Allsman, Marschal A. Bellinger, Vivian Huang, Matthew Duong, Alondra Contreras, Andrea N. Romero, Benjamin Verboonen, Sukhmani Sidhu, Xiaoguo Zhang, Holly Steinkraus, Aimee N. Uyehara, Stephanie E. Martinez, Rosalie M. Sinclair, Gabriela Salazar Soriano, Beatrice Diep, V. Dawson Byrd, Alexander Noriega, Georgia Drakakaki, Anne W. Sylvester, Carolyn G. Rasmussen
Summary: In this study, live-cell markers are used to track the dynamic reorganization of microtubules, nuclei, endoplasmic reticulum, and endomembrane compartments during division and the formation of the cell plate in maize leaf epidermal cells. The results show that microtubule dynamicity increases during mitosis, supporting rapid changes in microtubule structures. Additionally, the localization of cell-plate specific proteins was assessed after treatment with specific inhibitors.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nicole R. Gould, Olivia M. Torre, Jenna M. Leser, Joseph P. Stains
Summary: Bone is a mechano-responsive tissue that adapts to changes in its mechanical environment. Mechanical stress is crucial for bone mass and quality regulation, and understanding how bone cells sense and transduce these mechanical cues is important. While individual cytoskeletal components have been identified as mechano-sensors in bone, the interconnectedness and collaboration of the entire cytoskeleton may be essential for proper bone cell mechano-transduction.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Santimoy Sen, Sheetal Lagas, Abhishek Roy, Hemant Kumar
Summary: Cells rely on a balanced cytoskeleton to maintain cellular integrity and regulate signaling pathways. Dysregulation of the cytoskeleton can lead to various pathological conditions, and targeting cytoskeletal dynamics may provide new therapeutic approaches for these diseases.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stefan Baar, Masahiro Kuragano, Kiyotaka Tokuraku, Shinya Watanabe
Summary: This study aims to define a comprehensive approach to quantitatively estimate the physical cell activity based on migration and morphology using statistical analysis. The researchers present quantitative measurements of the influence of drugs on cell populations and have developed a customized deep learning cell detection and tracking procedure.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel A. D. Flormann, Moritz Schu, Emmanuel Terriac, Divyendu Thalla, Lucina Kainka, Marcus Koch, Annica K. B. Gad, Franziska Lautenschlaeger
Summary: Advancements in advanced microscopy techniques have enhanced imaging quality and understanding of subcellular structures, but computational analysis techniques have not progressed at the same pace. A new algorithm for tracing filament networks has been developed, capable of extracting important parameters and distinguishing sub-networks in two-dimensional images. This algorithm can be widely applied in analyzing images obtained from different advanced microscopy methods.
Article
Cell Biology
Changyuan Fan, Xuemeng Shi, Kaikai Zhao, Linbo Wang, Kun Shi, Yan-Jun Liu, Hui Li, Baohua Ji, Yaming Jiu
Summary: This study reveals the importance of migration persistence and speed in the formation of migrasomes, vesicle-like structures on retraction fibers of migrating cells. The narrowing of the cell's rear end during migration leads to fewer migrasomes, while faster migration speed positively correlates with migrasome formation. The removal of vimentin, a protein, compromises cell migration speed and persistence, resulting in fewer migrasomes.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ondrej Kucera, Jeremie Gaillard, Christophe Guerin, Clothilde Utzschneider, Manuel Thery, Laurent Blanchoin
Summary: This study investigates the interaction between gliding microtubules and networks of actin filaments, showing that the behavior of microtubules depends on the actin architecture. Unbranched actin networks can effectively guide microtubules during gliding.
Article
Neurosciences
Cristopher Villablanca, Rene Vidal, Christian Gonzalez-Billault
Summary: Astrocytes in the Central Nervous System (CNS) play important roles in both normal functioning and disease. Aging leads to reactive astrogliosis and cellular senescence in astrocytes, resulting in harmful proinflammatory effects. The changes in the cytoskeleton of astrocytes, which have not been extensively studied, may contribute to these alterations associated with aging and pathologies.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rosalie Sinclair, Grace Hsu, Destiny Davis, Mingqin Chang, Michel Rosquete, Janet H. Iwasa, Georgia Drakakaki
Summary: Cytokinesis in plants is unique compared to animals and fungi, involving the formation of a cell plate through the fusion of cytokinetic vesicles. This process results in the development of a new cell wall. The formation of the cell plate is a complex process involving vesicle accumulation, fusion, membrane maturation, and the deposition of polysaccharides.
Article
Microbiology
Richard S. Muniz, Paul C. Campbell, Thomas E. Sladewski, Lars D. Renner, Christopher L. de Graffenried
Summary: Researchers have developed a method for long-term live-cell imaging of Trypanosoma brucei using agarose microwells, allowing high spatial and temporal resolution imaging of cell division and monitoring of cell toxicity. With this approach, they found that asymmetric daughter cells produced during T. brucei division divide at different rates.
Article
Plant Sciences
Akiko Nakamasu, Takumi Higaki
JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH
(2019)
Article
Cell Biology
Takumi Higaki, Kae Akita, Seiichiro Hasezawa
Correction
Plant Sciences
Akiko Nakamasu, Takumi Higaki
JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Itsuki Kunita, Miyo Terao Morita, Masashi Toda, Takumi Higaki
Summary: The study developed a three-dimensional reconstruction system for Arabidopsis plants, allowing researchers to analyze plant morphology at a low cost and with easy adoption.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hikari Matsumoto, Yusuke Kimata, Takumi Higaki, Tetsuya Higashiyama, Minako Ueda
Summary: This study reveals that in Arabidopsis zygotes, vacuolar contents are exchanged dynamically between the apical and basal ends via a tubular network, with vacuoles migrating towards the basal end. Mutants lacking key vacuolar membrane proteins failed to maintain asymmetric vacuolar distribution, leading to symmetric cell division. The study also highlights the importance of YDA-mediated directional migration for establishing polar vacuolar distribution in zygotes.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rina Fujihara, Naoyuki Uchida, Toshiaki Tameshige, Nozomi Kawamoto, Yugo Hotokezaka, Takumi Higaki, Rudiger Simon, Keiko U. Torii, Masao Tasaka, Mitsuhiro Aida
Summary: EPFL2 plays a crucial role in Arabidopsis embryogenesis, with its loss leading to reduced cotyledon growth associated with decreased auxin response peaks. The recovery of mutant phenotype in germinating seedlings suggests redundancy with another factor in promoting cotyledon growth. The boundary domain between cotyledon primordia acts as a signaling center organizing auxin response peaks and promoting cotyledon growth.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Yuji Takihara, Takumi Higaki, Tomomasa Yokomizo, Terumasa Umemoto, Kazunori Ariyoshi, Michihiro Hashimoto, Maiko Sezaki, Hitoshi Takizawa, Toshihiro Inoue, Toshio Suda, Hidenobu Mizuno
Summary: This study developed an intravital imaging method to observe the migration dynamics of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during bone marrow formation. Neonatal HSCs migrate from outside to inside the tibia via the blood vessels that penetrate the bone, and settle on the blood vessel wall in the bone marrow.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Daichi Yoshida, Kae Akita, Takumi Higaki
Summary: The measurement of cytoskeletal features using digital image analysis is an important tool for quantitative evaluation of cell biology. In this study, a supervised machine learning approach was used to distinguish different cellular organizational patterns based on three features of cortical microtubules in Arabidopsis thaliana cells. The random forest machine learning model achieved high classification accuracy, showing the potential of this approach for large-scale screening analyses.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hirotomo Takatsuka, Takumi Higaki, Masaki Ito
Summary: Large vacuoles are crucial cell organelles in plants, accounting for over 90% of cell volume. They generate turgor pressure for cell growth and act as storage for waste products and apoptotic enzymes. Vacuoles undergo dynamic transformations controlled by cytoskeletons. However, the molecular mechanism of this process remains unclear. This review summarizes the behavior of cytoskeletons and vacuoles during plant development, their response to environmental stresses, and introduces potential key molecules in the vacuole-cytoskeleton interaction.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Haymar Wint, Jianzhen Li, Tadashi Abe, Hiroshi Yamada, Takumi Higaki, Yasutomo Nasu, Masami Watanabe, Kohji Takei, Tetsuya Takeda
Summary: This study demonstrates that the BAR domain protein pacsin 2 plays a crucial role in collective cell migration by regulating the endocytosis of N-cadherin in human cancer cells. Depletion of pacsin 2 leads to the formation of cell-cell contacts enriched with N-cadherin and directed cell migration. Furthermore, pacsin 2-depleted cells show impaired internalization of N-cadherin from the cell surface, indicating a new endocytic route for N-cadherin in collective cell migration and suggesting pacsin 2 as a potential therapeutic target for cancer metastasis.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kotomi Kikukawa, Hisako Takigawa-Imamura, Kouichi Soga, Toshihisa Kotake, Takumi Higaki
Summary: This study explores the importance of cell shape for cotyledon morphogenesis in Arabidopsis. The results show that changes in cell shape lead to abnormal cotyledon shapes, and suggest that reduced cell wall cellulose content and altered cortical microtubule organization may contribute to cell deformation. Mathematical modeling and computer simulations further support these experimental observations, demonstrating that elongation of pavement cells results in irregular cotyledon shapes.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tomoko Hirano, Kazuo Ebine, Takashi Ueda, Takumi Higaki, Takahiro Watanabe-Nakayama, Hiroki Konno, Hisako Takigawa-Imamura, Masa H. Sato
Summary: This study demonstrates that the SYP123-VAMP727-dependent secretion pathway plays a crucial role in delivering secondary cell wall components for the hardening of the subapical zone and shank of Arabidopsis root hairs. The localization of SYP123 at the plasma membrane is dependent on the production of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns)(3,5)P2, and this pathway is involved in maintaining the tubular morphology of root hairs by transporting secondary cell wall components. The study highlights the importance of SYP123-VAMP727-mediated secretion in root hair elongation and maintenance.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Takeshi Nishimura, Shogo Mori, Hiromasa Shikata, Moritaka Nakamura, Yasuko Hashiguchi, Yoshinori Abe, Takuma Hagihara, Hiroshi Y. Yoshikawa, Masatsugu Toyota, Takumi Higaki, Miyo Terao Morita
Summary: This study reveals a gravity-sensing mechanism by which LAZY1-LIKE (LZY) family proteins associate with amyloplasts and the proximal plasma membrane, resulting in polar localization according to the direction of gravity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Keisho Maeda, Takumi Higaki
Summary: Disruption of actin filaments may result in delayed cell plate formation by perturbing initial phragmoplast microtubules or cell plate assembly.
PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR
(2021)